Braids
by pinestripes
Summary: Jen is at his wit's end with his hair. Luckily, Kira knows more about hair care than he does. "You seem to know a lot about hair. No wonder yours is so shiny," Jen says, giving her a shy smile. "Well, my mother says that our people—the gelfling—took a lot of pride in their hair." Set after the movie, inspired by The Age of Resistance. Oneshot.


**Author's Note:**

Hi, I'm pinestripes and I'm obsessed with fantasy Muppets. I watched The Dark Crystal for the first time this past September, tore through Age of Resistance immediately after, and absolutely adored both. I haven't encountered high fantasy this good since I watched Lord of the Rings a couple years ago.

Anyway, the rich worldbuilding of the show really hits home how removed Jen and Kira are from their people and culture, which makes me really sad. I have a headcanon that the podlings who raised Kira knew just a little bit about gelfing culture and shared it with her while she was growing up (a headcanon fueled by the theory that her adopted mother Ydra actually appears in the show). On the other hand, the Mystics probably taught Jen very little about such things, so he knows essentially nothing about his roots. This fic was the tooth-achingly sweet result.

As always, dedicated to my sister for being my beta and best friend. Also dedicated to the lovely ArtisteFish, whose blog and writing have given many hours of happiness over the last few years. You can find her here on FanFiction and on Tumblr under that username. Also, her posts about Age of Resistance were what prompted me to finally go watch the movie! Thank you! You ruined my life (in a good way!).

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Jen enjoys watching Kira braid her hair. She always does it in the morning, after brushing through it, usually humming, sometimes doing one braid, sometimes two. The braids sometimes hang loose by her face, and sometimes she has them meet at the back of her head, where she ties them together. Her hair is long and shiny, and it flows through his fingers almost like water (though he only finds that out much, much later—nearly a trine after the Great Conjunction, when he is finally brave enough to ask to touch it).

_His _hair, on the other hand, is thick and coarse. The brush barely gets through when he tries to untangle it. It grows so quickly that he finds himself chopping at it unevenly almost every unum, when it starts hanging in his eyes. One morning Kira comes into his one-room hut to see him trying to force the brush through it, grumbling under his breath in frustration. Behind him, she giggles and startles him.

"Oh, Kira!" He spins around on his little stool in surprise. He can feel his ears going hot in embarrassment. "I was just—well—"

"What's wrong, Jen?" she interrupts before he can babble any longer, trying to stifle her amused smile.

"It's this old mop of mine." He holds up a lock of hair before letting it rest against his shoulder again. "It's all in knots, and I can't seem to get it sorted out."

Kira walks over and holds her hand out expectantly. "Here, let me try."

He hands over the brush and she gets to work. "You have to brush the ends first. If you start by your head right away it's harder for the brush to get through."

And in another few minutes she's done, having untangled his hair faster than he's ever been able to do. Suddenly he feels her fingers brush the back of his neck as she picks up a lock of his hair. He tries not to jump in surprise, and only half succeeds.

"You know, your hair feels a little dry," she says. "I have an oil you could use."

"An oil?"

"Wait here." She darts out, presumably to the hut she shares with Ydra, before returning with a little bottle in tow. She takes out the stopper and carefully pours a tiny bit into her palm. She then rubs it between her hands, covering them both. "When your hair is dry, you take just a little and smooth it over the ends, like this." She does so, and continues, "When it's wet you can use a bit more."

"I see," Jen manages to respond, as stiff and upright as one of the great trees.

Finally, Kira seems to have decided his hair is sufficiently cared for, as she puts the stopper back in the bottle and sets it on the table. "You can keep that. I have plenty. It's made from a plant that grows near here, and the Podlings don't care for it."

"You seem to know a lot about hair. No wonder yours is so shiny," Jen says, giving her a shy smile.

"Well, my mother says that our people—the gelfling—took a lot of pride in their hair."

Jen is taken aback. "Really?"

Kira nods. "Mm-hmm. They had all sorts of tricks to keep their hair healthy and shiny. They wore really complicated braids too." A hint of sadness creeps into her expression. "Mother doesn't remember most of their styles, though."

Jen frowns. "I see." He thinks for a moment, and then suggests, "Maybe you could come up with some styles of your own?"

"I've tried. It's so difficult when I can't see the back of my head."

The sadness is still in her expression, and Jen, anxious to comfort her, blurts out, "You could practice on me."

Kira lights up and in excitement kneels down to be on level with him. "Oh, Jen! Really?"

The twinkle in her eyes encourages him to agree. "Really. I never know what to do with mine, anyway.""Thank you!" She kisses him on the cheek, rendering him speechless.

In an hour or so, a large portion of Jen's hair is tied back in a series of braids. Strands of hair are falling out. The whole thing is rather uneven. Some of the Podlings giggle and tease him when they see it. Yet Kira's cheeks flush and eyes shine with happiness, so he wears his hair with pride.

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**I hope you enjoyed! I would love to know what you think.**


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